| 'He's two-faced': Trump, mad at Trudeau, says he's leaving NATO summit early Posted: 04 Dec 2019 06:51 AM PST  President Trump on Wednesday offered a blunt response to Justin Trudeau after video surfaced of the Canadian prime minister apparently mocking him during a conversation with other world leaders at the NATO summit in London.
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| Russia Has Something To Fear From The Royal Navy's Astute-Class Submarines Posted: 04 Dec 2019 03:36 AM PST  Taking a deeper look at NATO's antisubmarine capabilities.
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| US forces kill jihadist leader in Syria with precision 'ninja' missile that chops up targets with blades Posted: 04 Dec 2019 10:48 AM PST  US forces are thought to have killed a senior jihadist leader in northern Syria using a rarely deployed "Ninja" missile which attacks targets with precision sword-like blades. The Hellfire missile, or AGM-114R9X, which has a set of six folding blades instead of a warhead for minimum collateral damage, is believed to have been used to take out a commander in the al-Qaeda offshoot Hayat Tahrir Al Sham (HTS) in the province of Idlib. The leader, named locally by his nom-de-guerre Abu Ahmad al-Muhajir, was reported to have been killed on Tuesday night when the car he was travelling in was hit by missiles in the town of Atmeh near the Turkish border, 10 miles from the US raid that killed Islamic State leader Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi last month. He was said to be a high-profile foreign trainer of an elite force within HTS, known as "The Red Bands". Another, unidentified fighter who had been in car was also killed. This fragment is reported to have been found at the site of what may have been an RX9 (Hellfire with frikken swords) strike. If you looks closely, you can see what appear to be hinges, as well as being and twisted projections from those hinges. H/T @obretix, who found this. pic.twitter.com/db7ZOE6S1x— Nick Waters (@N_Waters89) December 4, 2019 Images of the scene shared on social media show a hole in the driver's seat of the Mutsubishi Delica, which is otherwise largely intact. Inside the car, flesh and blood can be seen and a number of large identical cut marks. Experts point to the windows, which have not been blown out, as evidence the "Ninja" or so-called "flying Ginsu" was used. The missile has only been deployed on a handful of occasions in the eight-year conflict in Syria, with at least one other reported use in the killing of Abu Khayr al-Masri, the deputy leader of al-Qaeda, in February 2017. The Hellfire AGM-114R9X "ninja" missile substitutes the explosive warhead found on standard missiles for a set of six folding sword-like blades, designed to smash through buildings and vehicles with minimal civilian casualties. Masri was killed while driving a car in al-Mastouma, 30 miles south of Atmeh, in Idlib. US unmanned aircraft, such as MQ-9 Reapers, can carry Hellfire missiles and are known to carry out targeted strikes. The missile has various pros and cons; while its precision helps to minimise the risk of civilian casualties, it relies on detailed intelligence that requires a lot of human resources. Nick Waters, a former infantry officer and investigator at Bellingcat who analysed pictures from the scene, said he could clearly see four cuts in the roof, one in the windscreen and one through the door: "you've got six: the same number of blades an R9X has," he said. Al-Qaeda deputy Abu Khayr al-Masri's car was targeted by a Hellfire missile. Pictures from the scene in 2017 show minimal damage to the rest of the car - a trademark of the AGM-114R9X, Credit: Twitter "This strike is very distinctive and although the coalition have denied carrying it out, it is possible that other US agencies not under the control of the coalition, such as the CIA, may have carried out this strike unilaterally," he told the Telegraph. The US-led coalition said it did not carry out the strike. The Telegraph approached US Central Command (CENTCOM) for comment. The US has focused on targeting Isil leaders in northern Syria and has largely avoided HTS in Idlib in the northwest. The Islamist group rules control most of the province, pushing out more moderate groups who had previously been dominant. It would be the first US strike on an HTS leader since 2017. The skies above Idlib are crowded as the Syrian government and its Russian allies carry out an offensive to regain the last-remaining rebel stronghold in the country.
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| You just lived through the warmest decade on record – and it's only going to get hotter Posted: 03 Dec 2019 09:45 AM PST  And 2019 is on course to be the second- or third-warmest year on record, with 2016 still holding the all-time temperature record.
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| Navy warship seizes suspected Iran missile parts set for Yemen Posted: 04 Dec 2019 01:51 PM PST  A Navy warship has seized a "significant cache" of suspected Iranian guided missile parts headed to rebels in Yemen, U.S. officials said Wednesday, marking the first time that such sophisticated components have been taken en route to the war there.
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| Police chief firing puts spotlight on cops who let him go Posted: 04 Dec 2019 03:11 PM PST  When fellow officers discovered Chicago's police chief asleep behind the wheel of his running SUV, they did not conduct any sobriety tests and let their boss drive home — a decision that has thrown a spotlight on what happens when one officer confronts another on patrol. "It's a worst-nightmare situation for a police officer to encounter their superior or chief who has been drinking," said Philip Stinson, a criminal justice professor at Bowling Green State University in Ohio.
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| Look at This Very Good, Very Old Boy Posted: 03 Dec 2019 09:22 AM PST  Researchers found the 18,000-year-old puppy in permafrost with fur, whiskers, and teeth intact.
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| Thousands of animals sacrificed in Nepal Hindu ritual amid outcry Posted: 04 Dec 2019 05:31 AM PST ![Thousands of animals sacrificed in Nepal Hindu ritual amid outcry]( "Thousands of animals sacrificed in Nepal Hindu ritual amid outcry") Tens of thousands of devout Hindus thronged a temple in southern Nepal where thousands of animals and birds were sacrificed this week, amid an outcry from animal rights activists who said the ritual was a cruel and gruesome spectacle. The ceremony, held every five years at the Gadhimai temple in Bara in southern Nepal, is believed to be the largest such mass-slaughter event in the world and animal rights activists have been campaigning to end the practice for years. About 80% of Nepal's 30 million population are Hindus and many sacrifice animals to appease deities during festivals.
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| Some of the many people Trump has denied knowing Posted: 03 Dec 2019 04:49 PM PST  Donald Trump said Tuesday that he "didn't know Prince Andrew." It's not the first person he has had trouble remembering.
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| Doomsday Testing: These 6 Huge Nuclear Weapons Tests Changed The World Posted: 04 Dec 2019 07:38 AM PST  You don't want to be nearby.
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| Wisconsin special education teacher restrained student who pulled a gun, wife says Posted: 03 Dec 2019 01:10 PM PST  Brett Hart, a special education teacher in Wisconsin, is "the kind of person you want to have in a situation like that," his wife said.
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| George Nader Used Straw Donor for Over $3M in Illegal Campaign Contributions in 2016: Feds Posted: 03 Dec 2019 06:15 PM PST  George Nader, a Lebanese-American businessman and a witness in Special Counsel Robert Mueller's investigation into 2016 Russian interference, has been indicted for allegedly conspiring to pour more than $3 million in illegal campaign contributions into the 2016 presidential election. According to the Justice Department, Andy Khawaja—the CEO of a California-based credit card processing company—conspired with Nader to conceal the source of over $3.5 million in contributions made to the political committees linked to a 2016 presidential candidate. The Justice Department did not specify which presidential candidate or committees received the donations. While the donations were made under the names of Khawaja, his wife, and his business, the contributions were allegedly funded by Nader.As Khawaja and Nader arranged these payments, Nader is accused of reporting to an official of a foreign government on his efforts to gain influence with the unnamed candidate and other political figures with the donations.The Associated Press reported that Khawaja gave over $4 million to Clinton's campaign and to other Democrats, but he pivoted to throwing money at President Trump after he won the 2016 election, donating $1 million to Trump's inaugural committee—which got him an Oval Office picture with Trump. Nader, who is currently in prison on child porn charges, forged ties with the Trump campaign in 2016 and was known to act as an intermediary in setting up meetings between members of Trump's campaign and foreign officials. Federal prosecutors say Khawaja also conspired with six other men to hide his own excessive contributions to a number of political committees. Khawaja allegedly attempted to hide over $1.8 million in contributions between March 2016 through 2018 with those six men, identified by the Justice Department as Roy Boulos, Rudy Dekermenjian, Mohammad Diab, Rani El-Saadi, Stevan Hill and Thayne Whipple.The Justice Department alleges that these donations enabled Khawaja to host a private fundraiser for a 2016 presidential candidate and a fundraising dinner for one elected official in 2018. Neither the candidate nor the official were named by federal prosecutors. Khawaja is currently a commissioner for the U.S. Commission on International Religious Freedom. According to the website, he was appointed to the commission by Sen. Chuck Shumer (D-NY). His company, Allied Wallet, had previously come under scrutiny over accusations it helped shady businesses get past banking systems through the use of "sham websites and dummy companies."Khawaja was charged with 35 counts in the 53-count Nov. 7 indictment, including counts of conspiracy, making conduit contributions, making false statements, and obstruction of a grand jury investigation. Nader was also charged with conspiring to make conduit contributions. He was questioned extensively as part of Mueller's investigation due to his connections and efforts to sway the Trump White House. He was later arrested and charged with sex trafficking.Read more at The Daily Beast.Get our top stories in your inbox every day. Sign up now!Daily Beast Membership: Beast Inside goes deeper on the stories that matter to you. Learn more.
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| ICE: Protest at Louisiana jail ends after pepper spray used Posted: 04 Dec 2019 08:58 AM PST ![ICE: Protest at Louisiana jail ends after pepper spray used]( "ICE: Protest at Louisiana jail ends after pepper spray used") U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement said officers inside one of its Louisiana jails pepper-sprayed migrants to end their protest over prolonged detention. Spokesman Bryan Cox said Wednesday that "a brief, calculated use of pepper spray was employed" during a Tuesday protest at the Winn Correctional Center in rural Winnfield. Cox said about 50 migrants were pepper-sprayed and the protesters "subsequently became compliant." Cox said medical staff evaluated anyone who came into contact with the pepper spray and no injuries were reported.
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| 'Jews are France', says Emmanuel Macron after 107 Jewish graves desecrated in anti-Semitic attack Posted: 04 Dec 2019 07:19 AM PST  President Emmanuel Macron has pledged to fight anti-Semitism saying "Jews are and make France" after 107 graves were desecrated at a Jewish cemetery in the northeast of the country. The daubing of swastikas and other anti-Semitic graffiti on the graves at the cemetery in Westhoffen around 15 miles west of Strasbourg in the Alsace region was the latest racist attack to shock the country. "Jews are and make France," President Emmanuel Macron wrote on Twitter on Tuesday. "Those who attack them, even their graves, are not worthy of the idea we have of France." "Anti-Semitism is a crime and we will fight it in Westhoffen as everywhere until our dead can sleep in peace," he added. In response to the latest in a string of such acts of anti-Semitic vandalism, France is to open a national bureau to lead the fight against hate crimes. The office, which would be part of France's gendarmerie, will be charged with investigating this crime but also all anti-Semitic, anti-Muslim and anti-Christian acts, said interior minister Christophe Castaner. France is to create a bureau against hate crimes Credit: ARND WIEGMANN/ REUTERS "The Republic itself has been desecrated," said Mr Castaner said after visiting the cemetery, which dates from the 16th century. The Alsace region has suffered a rash of racist vandalism over the past year, most notably the desecration of 96 tombs at a cemetery in Quatzenheim in February, which sparked nationwide outrage. The rising number of anti-Jewish offences reported to police - up 74 percent in 2018 from the previous year - has caused alarm in the country that is home to both the biggest Jewish and the biggest Muslim communities in Europe. Earlier this year, politicians from across the spectrum joined marches against anti-Semitism amid fears of a rise around the continent. They denounced a surge in attacks that some commentators blamed on incitement by Islamist preachers, others on the rise of anti-Zionism - opposition to the existence of Israel as a homeland for the Jewish people. The graves were desecrated just hours before French MPs adopted a resolution equating anti-Zionism with anti-Semitism. On Tuesday evening, French MPs approved a non-legally binding resolution modelled on the definition of anti-Semitism set by the International Holocaust Remembrance Alliance (IHRA). The IHRA definition, which serves as an international guideline, does not reference "anti-Zionism" but does say denying Jews their right to self-determination is anti-Semitic. The World Jewish Congress hailed France's step. "For too long too many have used the excuse that their obsessive criticism of Israel stands exclusive from their otherwise positive feelings for the Jewish people. Those days are now over," it said. Debate over the resolution split Mr Macron's ruling La Republique En Marche party, with some opponents saying it could smother freedom of expression in criticising the Israeli government. Backers said it merely targeted those who refused to recognise the existence of Israel or sought its destruction.
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| 'Cool it,' France and Germany to tell Trump at NATO talks Posted: 03 Dec 2019 04:01 PM PST !['Cool it,' France and Germany to tell Trump at NATO talks]( "'Cool it,' France and Germany to tell Trump at NATO talks") NATO leaders will tell U.S President Donald Trump on Wednesday they are spending billions more dollars on their militaries in the hope that he pares back his attacks on the Western alliance. In formal talks following a Buckingham Palace reception on Tuesday to celebrate 70 years of NATO, European leaders led by Germany and France aim to tell Trump they will not be treated as junior partners as they confront global conflicts.
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| Europe Eyes United Response to U.S. Tariff Threat Against France Posted: 04 Dec 2019 08:20 AM PST  (Bloomberg) -- Terms of Trade is a daily newsletter that untangles a world embroiled in trade wars. Sign up here. If the U.S. follows through on a threat to hit France with tariffs on $2.4 billion of its exports, the European Union will react collectively and in a proportionate manner that would consider all options available, according to an official familiar with the bloc's deliberations.The EU's chief trade negotiator Phil Hogan met with French Finance Minster Bruno Le Maire on Wednesday to discuss how to react to the American threat. Hogan said in the meeting that this was a European matter and that the bloc would react as one, said the official, who asked not to be identified because the discussion was private.The office of the U.S. Trade Representative announced this week that it was considering the tariffs in response to a French digital services tax that it says unfairly discriminates against U.S. companies. The levy would hit tech companies including Google, Apple Inc., Facebook Inc. and Amazon.com Inc."It's clear that if the U.S. would impose sanctions on France, the EU would react in a united way to protect France," Le Maire told reporters in Brussels after the meeting. "We don't want to enter into this rationale of sanction and retaliation, that's not what we want, but we're forced to protect ourselves if the U.S. decides to follow through."Hogan is working closely with the French to coordinate their next steps, according to the official.French President Emmanuel Macron says the tax on tech companies is necessary because the structure of the global economy has shifted to one based on data, rendering current systems archaic. His government is trying to use the national tax as a bargaining chip in its push for nations to agree to a global accord, which so far has remained elusive.France's tax, retroactive to January, affects companies with at least 750 million euros ($831 million) in global revenue and digital sales of 25 million euros in France. While most of the roughly 30 businesses affected are American, the list also includes Chinese, German, British and French companies.The French government says it's urgent to overhaul tax rules because the average tax rate for digital companies in the European Union is only 9.5%, compared with 23.2% for other companies."The EU will act and react as one and it will remain united," European Commission Spokesman Daniel Rosario said this week. "We are coordinating closely with the French authorities with the next steps."\--With assistance from Rudy Ruitenberg.To contact the reporters on this story: Richard Bravo in Brussels at rbravo5@bloomberg.net;Jonathan Stearns in Brussels at jstearns2@bloomberg.netTo contact the editors responsible for this story: Ben Sills at bsills@bloomberg.net, Flavia Krause-JacksonFor more articles like this, please visit us at bloomberg.com©2019 Bloomberg L.P.
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| China actually started blocking US Navy port calls to Hong Kong months before its latest retaliatory move Posted: 03 Dec 2019 06:38 AM PST  China has rejected half a dozen US Navy port-call requests for stops in Hong Kong in the past six months, according to US Pacific Fleet.
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| Schiff responds to Nunes phone calls in impeachment inquiry report Posted: 03 Dec 2019 02:42 PM PST  House Intelligence Committee Chairman Adam Schiff said it's "deeply concerning" that members of congress could be involved in the allegations against President Trump. He was responding to a question about calls by the ranking member of the committee, Devin Nunes, being listed in the impeachment inquiry report.
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| Texas Deer Hunters Tell Tale of Kidnapping After Deadly Mexican Cartel Shootout Posted: 04 Dec 2019 01:36 AM PST  A Thanksgiving weekend deer-hunting trip to Mexico took a terrifying turn for two Texans who say they suddenly found themselves the ones with rifles pointed at them.Donald Chapman and his nephew, Colby Williams, said the gunmen who appeared before them on Sunday apparently had been part of a convoy of cartel sicarios that rolled into the nearby town of Villa Union the day before.The sicarios had mounted a surprise attack on the town hall and killed four police officers. But the hitmen got a surprise of their own and found themselves the target of a fierce government response that included Mexican marines and military helicopters. Photos posted online showed several bullet-riddled and abandoned pick-up trucks bearing the letters C.D.N., for Cartel del Noreste, the Cartel of the Northeast. The occupants not among the 10 sicarios killed in the first hour seem to have fled into the surrounding countryside.The government pursued the remaining sicarios on into Sunday, killing at least seven more. It appears that's when a number of the hunted gunmen then encountered the hunting Texans.A New Twist in the Horrific Massacre of American Moms and Kids in MexicoChapman, 62, and Williams, 30, were out on a 10,000-acre ranch they had leased with a single purpose."It's just really good deer hunting," Williams told The Daily Beast.As they faced the sicarios, Williams and Chapman also faced the possibility of being as dead as a bagged buck. But they said that as soon as they obeyed a command to get down on the ground, the Mexicans threw their guns over their shoulders. The Texans said their captors took their rifles and their cellphones. But that was just a precaution. What they really wanted was Chapman's pick-up along with Williams' pick-up, which they had left back at the ranch house."They were walking," Chapman later said. "They were lost." They were also hungry and thirsty. The two Texans said they gave them food and water."You do those kind of things if you have a weapon at you," Williams noted.Another thing you do is get in a car when instructed. By Chapman and Williams' account, they all rode off in the two vehicles. "They used us to get where they wanted to be, which was home and their families," Williams said.The Texans said their captors treated them surprisingly well."They were nice to me, and to be honest with you, did not hurt us in any way," Williams reported.Chapman recalled, "Every other word out of their mouth was, 'No problem, you'll be OK. We don't hurt Americans.'"After 11 hours, the captors had arrived where they wanted to go. They gave the Texans back their cellphones and the rest of their property. "Everything that had been taken," Williams said.But that was not the biggest surprise."It seems wild, but they washed our vehicles and put fuel in them," Williams said.Chapman recalled that they only washed his nephew's truck."And detailed it," Chapman told The Daily Beast. "Mine's still dirty."The Mexican Cartels vs. a Mormon Sect: Behind the Horrific Massacre of American Moms and ChildrenThe gunmen had made it back to their families and now they were freeing the Texans to go back to theirs.Their gas tanks full, the Texans headed straight for the border."We got across as soon as possible," Wiliams said.Chapman said he checked his phone and saw missed calls and messages from seemingly every law enforcement outfit."The FBI, Secret Service, Homeland Security, all the agencies," Chapman told The Daily Beast. "Apparently, I was important to be found."Reports of their disappearance had already surfaced in the Mexican media and on social media, and their families had seen a report online that they had both been murdered. When Williams and Chapman called home to say they were on their way back, Caller ID was the first signal to their loved ones the two were alive."They were excited to see our call," Williams said with a Texas boy's understatement.Nobody from anywhere was ever happier to be returning home. He pulled up to his house in his gleaming, detailed pick-up. "I've got three kids under age 4," Williams said. "I wanted to enjoy every minute I had with him."He understood how easily that news report could have proven true. "We were just lucky the good Lord above took care of us," he said. "I've been on my knees ever since."Williams was asked on Tuesday if he expected to go deer hunting in Mexico again."No, sir," he answered.Chapman was headed to Kansas in his still-dirty pick-up."I'm deer hunting north this time," he said.Read more at The Daily Beast.Got a tip? Send it to The Daily Beast hereGet our top stories in your inbox every day. Sign up now!Daily Beast Membership: Beast Inside goes deeper on the stories that matter to you. Learn more.
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| Gaza fields, ravaged by Israeli herbicides, bloom again Posted: 03 Dec 2019 06:03 PM PST  For four years, he said, Israeli planes regularly sprayed herbicides along the border which scorched his crops, and he fears it could resume at any time. Israel says it sprays only on its side of the border, to clear a buffer zone of hiding places for potential Palestinian attackers. Israel and the Islamist Palestinian movement Hamas, which controls the strip, have fought three wars since 2008, with regular cross-border clashes since the last round in 2014.
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| Sen. Paul offering bill to combat student loan debt Posted: 03 Dec 2019 01:35 AM PST  U.S. Sen. Rand Paul wants to combat the rising debt load engulfing college students by allowing families to use their retirement savings to pay off their loans. The Kentucky Republican introduced federal legislation late Monday that would allow students to dip into retirement accounts to help pay for college or make monthly debt payments. Americans collectively owe about $1.5 trillion in student loans — more than twice the total of a decade ago.
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| Two of four teens who escaped juvenile detention center found outside Tennessee apartments Posted: 04 Dec 2019 08:10 AM PST  Metro Nashville police arrested the teens, who escaped Saturday, outside an apartment complex in Madison, Tennessee. Two are still on the loose.
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| Georgia Governor Appoints Kelly Loeffler to Senate in Defiance of Trump Posted: 04 Dec 2019 07:45 AM PST  Georgia Governor Brian Kemp, a Republican, appointed his preferred candidate to the state's vacated Senate seat on Wednesday in defiance of President Trump.Kemp chose multimillionaire businesswoman Kelly Loeffler to replace Senator Johnny Isakson, who stepped down today due to recurring health issues. Kemp reportedly believes Loeffler will help the GOP with suburban voters and women in particular, but some conservatives have criticized Loeffler's membership on the board of Grady Memorial Hospital, the largest provider of abortions in Georgia.President Trump and allies have made it clear to Kemp that they preferred Representative Doug Collins for the appointment. Collins is a staunch supporter of Trump and is the top Republican on the House Judiciary Committee."I stand with hardworking Georgians and @POTUS," Kemp wrote on Twitter in November. "The idea that I would appoint someone to the U.S. Senate that is NOT pro-life, pro-2nd Amendment, pro-freedom, and 100% supportive of our President (and his plan to Keep America Great) is ridiculous."The announcement came as Rep. Collins was in the midst of impeachment hearings in the House. Collins in a Sunday interview did not rule out the possibility of running for the senate seat in 2020 even if Loeffler was appointed.According to Politico, Loeffler plans to use $20 million of her own fortune on the 2020 special election, where she would campaign to complete Isakson's term. That sum may be enough to make potential challengers to her campaign think twice.Rep. Matt Gaetz (R., Fla.), who earlier criticized Kemp for his intention to stick by Loeffler, attacked the governor again on Twitter when a press conference to announce Kemp's appointment of Loeffler was confirmed."Governor Kemp announces the funeral time & location for his political career," Gaetz wrote.
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| UPDATE 1-Hungary to block Ukraine's NATO membership over language law Posted: 04 Dec 2019 07:50 AM PST ![UPDATE 1-Hungary to block Ukraine's NATO membership over language law]( "UPDATE 1-Hungary to block Ukraine's NATO membership over language law") Hungary's foreign minister on Wednesday said Budapest would block Ukraine's membership in NATO until Kiev restored the rights that ethnic Hungarians had before a language law curbed minorities' access to education in their mother tongues. Hungary has clashed with Ukraine over what it says are curbs on the rights of roughly 150,000 ethnic Hungarians to use their native tongue, especially in education, after Ukraine passed a law in 2017 restricting the use of minority languages. "We ask for no extra rights to Hungarians in Transcarpathia, only those rights they had before," Szijjarto told state news agency MTI at the NATO summit in London.
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| China Built The DF-26 Missile To Take Down America's Prized Aircraft Carriers Posted: 04 Dec 2019 08:30 AM PST  Don't underestimate these missiles.
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| Why is Elizabeth Warren falling in the polls? Blame Medicare-for-all. Posted: 04 Dec 2019 02:55 AM PST ![Why is Elizabeth Warren falling in the polls? Blame Medicare-for-all.]( "Why is Elizabeth Warren falling in the polls? Blame Medicare-for-all.") Before Elizabeth Warren had "a plan for that," the GOP had its own man with a plan. A decade ago, Paul Ryan championed a "roadmap" to curb the national debt and rein in entitlement spending through free-market reforms of the big programs that benefit the elderly. Republicans seemed to buy in: Despite Democrats labeling his "Path to Prosperity" plan a cruel austerity program that would hurt seniors, Ryan rode this ambitious budget blueprint to two committee chairmanships, a vice presidential nomination and the House speakership.But the triumph of the Ryan plan did not last long. The former speaker is out of Congress and Republicans no longer control the House. The Republican president of the United States, Donald Trump, pointedly rejected Ryan's proposals to retool Social Security and Medicare. Entitlement reform is once again the third rail of American politics; Democrats want to expand rather than cut these programs to cover still more people.History may be about to repeat itself in the form of Warren, the senator from Massachusetts vying for the 2020 Democratic nomination with her promise of "Medicare-for-all" and a move away from most private health insurance. Warren rocketed to near-frontrunner status only to fall in recent polls. There are many factors driving her decline, but it undeniably coincides with the increasing unpopularity of replacing existing health-care arrangements with an expanded Medicare (as opposed to letting people choose to buy into a public option).As Warren soared, Democrats who haggled with her over the price tag of "Medicare-for-all" and the feasibility of her progressive policy agenda -- with the significant exception of former Vice President Joe Biden -- appeared doomed to also-ran status. Former Maryland Rep. John Delaney lost his eligibility for the debate stage as Minnesota Sen. Amy Klobuchar struggled to hang on. But by the end of November, Warren toppled by 14 points to a virtual tie for third place in Quinnipiac's national poll with Vermont Sen. Bernie Sanders as Biden reclaimed the lead, with South Bend, Indiana, Mayor Pete Buttigieg -- newly re-tacking to the center -- rounding into second. Warren has also tumbled to third place in the RealClearPolitics polling averages for Iowa and New Hampshire while trailing Biden in both Nevada and South Carolina.At the same time, according to Quinnipiac, only 36 percent of voters deem Warren's version of Medicare-for-all a "good idea," and 52 percent think it is a "bad idea." As recently as August 2017, the split was 51-38 in Warren's favor.Indeed, the same problem that plagued Ryan's big ideas seem to be plaguing Warren's: People don't like it when their existing entitlements are disrupted. This is especially true of health care, whether it is interrupted by more government (think ObamaCare) or by attempts to reduce government (think Trump-era efforts to repeal ObamaCare). As Ryan's downfall shows, no matter how gradual the proposed phase-in of new such policies, voters simply are not convinced they won't get stung, and Warren is grappling with this reality now.Now, just as establishment Republicans began to entertain second thoughts about following Ryan's roadmap, the public's turn on Medicare-for-all has spooked other Democratic contenders. The candidates who have jumped in late, such as former New York City Mayor Michael Bloomberg and former Massachusetts Gov. Deval Patrick, are skeptics of this leftward economic shift. The party knows it can run to the left of Bill Clinton and win nationally -- Barack Obama did it twice. Democrats are now grappling with whether they can run to the left of Obama and do the same. Polling might suggest they cannot: Quinnipiac found that only 14 percent of Democrats and Democratic-leaning voters think Obama was not liberal enough, while 80 percent found the 44th president "just right."One of Warren's problems is that she has been unwilling to acknowledge the middle-class tax increases her plans will certainly entail, refusing to give her opponents the televised "gotcha moment" as she remains steadfast the insurance cost savings will offset this burden. Yes, Warren is right that Americans are unsatisfied with the costs of the current health-care system. And Ryan was correct that the math of our existing entitlement programs doesn't add up. But whether your solution is a greater federal role or better functioning markets, the transition is politically challenging, no matter how good your plan.Want more essential commentary and analysis like this delivered straight to your inbox? Sign up for The Week's "Today's best articles" newsletter here.More stories from theweek.com Trump's pathological obsession with being laughed at The most important day of the impeachment inquiry Jerry Falwell Jr.'s false gospel of memes
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| Democrats See USMCA Deal Near, Urge Mexico to Accept Compromise Posted: 04 Dec 2019 04:28 PM PST  (Bloomberg) -- Terms of Trade is a daily newsletter that untangles a world embroiled in trade wars. Sign up here. House Democrats said Wednesday that a deal on the stalled U.S.-Mexico-Canada free-trade agreement is within reach and urged Mexico to accept a compromise on labor-rights enforcement."We are on the 2 1/2-yard line," Ways and Means Chairman Richard Neal said about efforts to wrap up negotiations on the replacement for Nafta and clear the way for approval in Congress.Mexico's top trade negotiator, Jesus Seade, met Wednesday in Washington with his Trump administration counterpart, Robert Lighthizer, in an attempt to resolve final details.Leaving the meeting, Seade said there were still outstanding issues and that he'd return on Thursday to continue negotiations. He pointed out that Mexico has already accepted a lot of changes as negotiators try to accommodate the demands of House Democrats who will decide whether and when Congress will vote on the trade agreement.One of the concerns raised by Democrats includes enforcement of stricter labor standards, especially in Mexico. Seade said there were still details to be worked out, but bringing in U.S. inspectors to monitor Mexican companies was off the table.Mexico's SovereigntyCalifornia Representative Jimmy Gomez, a member of the House Democrats negotiating team, said that House Speaker Nancy Pelosi and Lighthizer have offered Mexico a compromise on labor enforcement that "respects Mexico's sovereignty.""If they want a deal, it is ripe now," Gomez said. "It's a good deal. That's my message to the Mexicans and that's my message to Democrats."While Seade ruled out U.S. inspectors in Mexican factories, he told reporters that Mexico was open to a fast-track arbitration process to address labor-rights violations. Gomez said the compromise does not involve "rogue" U.S. inspections, but that there is an element of monitoring involved to ensure compliance.According to people briefed on the deal in Mexico, the labor proposal aims to make dispute settlement more effective. Disputes could take into account enforcement of Mexico's overhaul to improve labor conditions, but wouldn't allow investigators to just show up on any day to a factory unannounced, the "lone ranger" type of inspections that Seade has rejected.On another sticking point for Mexico, the White House and Democrats suggested removing a provision guaranteeing 10 years of data protection for biologic drugs, according to people briefed on the deal. That would be a victory for both Democrats and Mexico, which had opposed including the protection in the USMCA before it was signed one year ago.(Updates with Seade comments beginning in the fourth paragraph.)To contact the reporters on this story: Erik Wasson in Washington at ewasson@bloomberg.net;Eric Martin in Mexico City at emartin21@bloomberg.net;Josh Wingrove in Washington at jwingrove4@bloomberg.netTo contact the editors responsible for this story: Joe Sobczyk at jsobczyk@bloomberg.net, John Harney, Anna EdgertonFor more articles like this, please visit us at bloomberg.com©2019 Bloomberg L.P.
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| The year the world woke up to the climate emergency Posted: 04 Dec 2019 02:31 AM PST  Spurred on by Swedish wunderkind Greta Thunberg -- virtually unknown outside of her homeland a year ago but now a global star nominated for a Nobel prize -- millions of young people took part in weekly demonstrations demanding climate action. Although scientists have warned for decades about the risk to humanity and Earth posed by unfettered burning of fossil fuels, in 2019 -- set to be the second hottest year in history -- their message seems to have finally hit home. The 2015 Paris agreement saw nations commit to limiting global warming to two degrees Celsius (2.7 Fahrenheit) above pre-industrial levels as a way of curbing the worst impacts of global warming.
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| Trump taps consultant who urged food ban on homeless to lead council Posted: 04 Dec 2019 03:44 PM PST  The administration last month pushed out an Obama appointee.
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| Widow who offered $25,000 reward in husband's 2006 death arrested in connection with murder Posted: 03 Dec 2019 10:21 AM PST  Marathon County authorities said they arrested Cindy Shulz-Juedes of Chippewa Falls, Wisconsin, on Nov. 27 in connection with her husband's death.
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| 8 of the biggest takeaways from a new book on Melania Trump that reveal her fashion, strategy, and life inside the White House Posted: 03 Dec 2019 11:38 PM PST  "Free, Melania: The Unauthorized Biography," captures Trump as an untraditional first lady at the center of many misconceptions.
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| Iran leader calls for ‘Islamic mercy’ after bloody crackdown Posted: 04 Dec 2019 07:15 AM PST  Iran's supreme leader called Wednesday for those detained in recent gasoline price protests to be treated with "Islamic mercy" even after authorities acknowledged government forces shot and killed demonstrators nationwide in unrest that reportedly killed over 200 people. The comments by Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, who has final say over all state matters in the Islamic Republic, appear to signal how much the mid-November protests shook the pillars of power in the theocracy. Amnesty International believes at least 208 people were killed in the protests and security force crackdown that followed.
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| Nunes says he doesn’t ‘recall’ whether he spoke with Lev Parnas Posted: 04 Dec 2019 08:02 AM PST  Rep. Devin Nunes, R.-Calif., claimed on Tuesday that he didn't remember speaking to Lev Parnas, an associate of Rudy Giuliani indicted on campaign finance charges, after House Democrats released as part of their impeachment report phone records showing frequent calls between Nunes and Parnas.
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| Learn About Russia's 'Version' of the B-52 Bomber Posted: 03 Dec 2019 03:30 PM PST  The Tu-95 might be sixty years old, but it's still in use because it does the job few planes can.
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| Huawei urging suppliers to break the law by moving offshore - U.S. Commerce chief Posted: 03 Dec 2019 02:05 PM PST ![Huawei urging suppliers to break the law by moving offshore - U.S. Commerce chief]( "Huawei urging suppliers to break the law by moving offshore - U.S. Commerce chief") China's telecoms giant Huawei has been encouraging its suppliers to violate U.S. law by telling them to move operations offshore in a bid to avoid U.S. sanctions, Commerce Department Secretary Wilbur Ross told Reuters on Tuesday. In May, the U.S. government placed Huawei Technologies Co Ltd on a trade blacklist known as the entity list, over national security concerns, forcing some suppliers to apply for special licenses to sell equipment to the company. On Tuesday, Ross said in an interview that those frustrations extended to a push from Huawei to move its supply chain overseas.
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| 2020 Democrats Expose Extreme Abortion Policies in New Survey Posted: 04 Dec 2019 03:30 AM PST  The New York Times has released the results from a set of questions posed to each Democratic presidential candidate about his or her views on abortion. Thus far in the primary race, very few of the candidates have been pushed to account for their position on a variety of abortion policies, especially during the debates. The Times should be commended for this effort to get candidates on the record on specific policy questions.Five candidates did not complete the survey: Montana governor Steve Bullock (who has since exited the race), former Housing and Urban Development secretary Julian Castro, former Maryland congressman John Delaney, Hawaii congresswoman Tulsi Gabbard, and California senator Kamala Harris (who ended her campaign yesterday).The survey is the first time that most candidates were asked whether they support restrictions on abortion procedures after fetal viability, usually somewhere around 21 weeks' gestation, the earliest a premature infant has survived. Only Minnesota senator Amy Klobuchar suggested that regulations could be acceptable, saying they "must be consistent with Roe v. Wade," which would allow states to limit abortion in the third trimester with an exception for women's health. (It's worth noting that Roe companion case Doe v. Bolton defined "health" expansively to include financial, emotional, and familial health, making it difficult for states to limit abortion practically speaking.)Most candidates offered some form of a "no," including Colorado senator Michael Bennet, Vermont senator Bernie Sanders, billionaire Tom Steyer, and New Jersey senator Cory Booker. Several candidates offered longer explanations, repeating the common claim that post-viability abortions are rare and only take place in the case of medical emergencies."The fact is that less than 1 percent of abortions take place after 24 weeks of pregnancy," South Bend, Ind., mayor Pete Buttigieg said. "They often involve heartbreaking circumstances in which a person's health or life is at risk, or when the fetus has a congenital condition that is incompatible with life."Massachusetts senator Elizabeth Warren used the same formula. "Only 1.3 percent of abortions take place at 21 weeks or later, and the reasons are heartbreaking," she said. "20-week abortion bans are dangerous and cruel. They would force women to carry an unviable fetus to term or force women with severe health complications to stay pregnant with their lives on the line."Both Andrew Yang and Marianne Williamson offered similar responses. It's worth explaining why these are cop-out answers that obfuscate the truth about late-term abortion. Just over 1 percent of abortions after 20 weeks does sound rare, until you consider that the pro-choice Guttmacher Institute also estimates about 926,000 annual abortions, meaning that 12,000 abortions happen after viability. That means there are more post-viability abortions each year than gun homicides.Contrary to the Democratic narrative, plenty of women obtain third-trimester abortions for reasons other than a fetal-health condition (and it is certainly debatable whether it's "medically necessary" to kill unborn human beings with an illness or disability). In this interview, a U.S. doctor who performs third-trimester abortions says "a large percentage of our patients had no idea that they were pregnant" until late in pregnancy and that they then obtain an abortion at her clinic. There are a few clinics in the U.S. that advertise late-term elective abortions, including Southwestern Women's Options, a facility in Albuquerque, N.M., that performs elective abortions through 32 weeks of pregnancy.A 2013 Guttmacher article reported that "data suggest that most women seeking later terminations are not doing so for reasons of fetal anomaly or life endangerment." Rather, they most often do so for reasons such as "they were raising children alone, were depressed or using illicit substances, were in conflict with a male partner or experiencing domestic violence, had trouble deciding and then had access problems, or were young and nulliparous."These talking points from Democrats are an inaccurate excuse deployed by candidates who refuse to support any regulations on abortion but want to provide cover for that unpopular position by twisting the facts.On several other key questions, meanwhile, all of the candidates are in lockstep, showcasing that support for nearly unlimited abortion, funded by taxpayers, has become a requirement for Democratic politicians with national aspirations. For example, every candidate said he or she wouldn't so much as consider a running mate who opposes abortion rights, a signal that there is no room at the top of the party for pro-life Democrats.Several candidates answered an additional survey question about whether "opponents of abortion rights" should be welcomed as members or candidates in the party. Two non-politician candidates, Williamson and Yang, said the party should be a "big tent" free of litmus tests, and Bennet said the party "is and should be an inclusive one."Buttigieg, meanwhile, offered a vague reply seeming to suggest that pro-life Democrats are in fact unwelcome. "Democrats believe every person has the right to make decisions about their own reproductive health and about their body," he wrote. Warren had a similarly indirect answer: "We should stand up to any politician who tramples on a personal decision that has health and economic security consequences for women, their future and their families."Only one candidate, former Pennsylvania congressman Joe Sestak, who has since dropped out of the race, had an answer that articulated what Democrats risk by turning abortion into a litmus test. "In some cases, I think it is appropriate for the Democratic Party to welcome candidates who oppose abortion rights," Sestak wrote. "Such cases could include candidates running in places where a Democrat who supports abortion rights would be unable to win. . . ."Consider the recent reelection of Democratic governor John Bel Edwards in Louisiana, who defeated his Republican challenger by a narrow margin in mid November. Of all the heartbeat bills signed into law earlier this year — prohibiting abortion after a fetal heartbeat can be detected, which usually takes place around six weeks' gestation — only Louisiana's was signed by a Democrat: Edwards. Without his pro-life bona fides, Edwards almost surely would've lost his seat. If most national Democrats got their way, candidates like him would be excised from the party entirely, to the benefit of Republicans.There was unanimous support among candidates for "codifying" the Supreme Court's decision in Roe, though it is unclear how they would do so within the bounds of the Constitution. Every survey respondent expressed support for repealing the Hyde Amendment, a rider that prevents federal funds from directly underwriting abortion procedures. Even Joe Biden — who for decades of his public career supported Hyde as a protection for pro-life Americans with whom he says he personally agrees — has reversed his position, an indication of the party's dramatic shift on the issue."Biden will repeal the Hyde Amendment and use executive action to on his first day in office withdraw the Mexico City 'global gag rule' and Donald Trump's Title X restrictions," Biden's campaign told the Times in a statement. But despite his willingness to jettison his lifelong stance and drift along with party dogma, Biden didn't answer two additional questions in the survey: whether he would sign a budget that included Hyde and whether he would require private insurers to cover abortion.Several candidates, including Buttigieg, Warren, Williamson, Yang, Bennet, Booker, and Sanders said they would compel private insurers to cover abortion, a step further even than opposing Hyde.Democrats running for president have made it abundantly clear up to this point that they plan to align their campaigns with their party's most hard-core supporters of abortion rights. This survey suggests that they're willing to do so even when it requires exposing their extremism to voters who disagree.
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| Cory Booker Bets $100 Billion on Historically Black Colleges and Universities Posted: 03 Dec 2019 12:03 PM PST  Sen. Cory Booker of New Jersey on Tuesday proposed investing $100 billion in historically black colleges and universities and other minority-serving institutions, a broad proposal in a Democratic field that has offered varying plans to prop up this long-standing yet struggling arm of the educational system.Many HBCUs, as historically black colleges and universities are commonly known, have faced widespread financial woes recently, with some schools losing accreditation and facing plummeting enrollment.Booker's proposal comes at a precarious time for his presidential campaign: Despite crossing the 200,000 individual-donor threshold last month, he is still short four qualifying polls for the December debate and is in real danger of being left off the stage.While many candidates, including Sens. Bernie Sanders of Vermont and Elizabeth Warren of Massachusetts; former Vice President Joe Biden; and Mayor Pete Buttigieg, of South Bend, Indiana, have already rolled out proposals to invest billions into HBCUs, an anchor of Booker's proposal is dedicating at least $40 billion to those institutions for climate change research.Booker's plan also calls for an additional $30 billion in grants to expand and improve science, technology, engineering and mathematics -- known as STEM education -- at HBCUs and minority-serving institutions, and another $30 billion in grants to upgrade facilities and infrastructure at the schools."HBCUs make our country stronger and more reflective of the diversity that makes us so great," Booker said in a statement announcing the proposal. "I am here today because of the power of these institutions to uplift and bring about opportunity to black Americans."More than 70% of students at HBCUs and minority-serving institutions rely on Pell Grants, according to Marybeth Gasman, an education professor at Rutgers University. The Booker campaign aims to expand access to college by doubling the value of Pell Grants to $12,400 from $6,200 and require that 10% of Second Chance Pell Grant programs are given to HBCUs and minority-serving institutions."It's the most aggressive plan," Gasman said. "Of course it's coming out after the others, so I think that's a smart and bold move on his part."Indeed, discussion about the many ways the Democratic candidates have proposed to bolster HBCUs has become a central topic in the Democratic presidential primary.Warren committed to investing a minimum of $50 billion into HBCUs, paid for by her wealth tax proposal, within her overarching plan to make public college free and to cancel most student loan debt. She said she would seek to increase the budget with her secretary of education to ensure equity in spending per student compared with other colleges in a given area.Sanders, who also proposed universal free public college and canceling all student loan debt, pledged to make similar investments in HBCUs with a focus on educating teachers and those in the medical field. In addition, Sanders also proposed canceling the $1.6 billion in existing loan debt HBCUs face through the current Capital Financing Program.Last month, Buttigieg wrote an op-ed in The Baltimore Sun, also promising to invest $50 billion in HBCUs.Biden proposed more than $70 billion in investments for HBCUs, with dedicated funds to specific needs, such as $10 billion to create at least 200 new research incubators; $20 billion in high-tech labs, facilities and digital infrastructure; and another $18 billion in grants to help with tuition at four-year colleges, equivalent to up to two years of tuition per low-income and middle-class students.Some experts, while lauding the financial scope of Booker's plan, questioned whether focusing so much of the funding on STEM programs and climate change studies was the best solution for many of the HBCUs around the country."There are maybe 10 to 20 HBCUs facing being shuttered that don't have those fields," said Jerry Crawford II, a professor of journalism and a director of the multicultural scholars program at the University of Kansas.Of course, underpinning all of these proposals is the difficulty in paying for them. Booker's campaign said he would request $100 billion over 10 years from Congress in his first budget and has identified other sources of new revenue in previous policy proposals, such as undoing President Donald Trump's tax cuts and restoring the estate tax to 2009 levels."If Sen. Booker could pull off this kind of investment in HBCUs," said Gasman, "it would be historic."This article originally appeared in The New York Times.(C) 2019 The New York Times Company
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| George Zimmerman is suing Trayvon Martin's family Posted: 04 Dec 2019 12:35 PM PST  George Zimmerman, who in 2013 was acquitted of charges in the fatal shooting of Trayvon Martin, is suing Martin's family and others for $100 million, the Miami Herald reports.Martin's mother, Sybrina Fulton, is the lead defendant in Zimmerman's lawsuit filed in Polk County Circuit Court. Also being sued are the former prosecutors in the previous Zimmerman case, and Harper Collins, which published a book written by Ben Crump, the attorney who represented Martin's family.Prosecutors during the 2013 trial said that Zimmerman, a neighborhood watch volunteer, was not justified in shooting and killing the unarmed black teenager, while Zimmerman claims he was acting in self-defense. The jury found him not guilty of second-degree murder.Zimmerman's new lawsuit, the Herald reports, cites "information in a documentary about the case that accuses the Martin family of engineering false testimony." He's reportedly seeking $100 million in civil damages and alleging defamation, abuse of civil process, and conspiracy.Crump in a statement described the lawsuit as "reckless" and "another failed attempt to defend the indefensible and a shameless attempt to profit off the lives and grief of others."More stories from theweek.com Rudy Giuliani is literally in Ukraine right now Trump's pathological obsession with being laughed at Impeachment witness Pamela Karlan unloads on GOP Rep. Doug Collins in opening statement: 'I'm insulted'
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| Trump was embarrassed on the first day of the NATO summit, and it shows no one is bothering to take him seriously anymore Posted: 04 Dec 2019 06:11 AM PST  President Donald Trump went into the NATO summit triumphant, claiming credit for large structural budget changes. That success waned quickly.
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| Tennessee governor not stopping planned execution Thursday Posted: 04 Dec 2019 10:58 AM PST  Tennessee Gov. Bill Lee announced Wednesday that he won't stop the state from putting a blind inmate to death in the electric chair later this week, clearing the way for the execution unless a federal court intervenes. Lee Hall, a 53-year-old inmate who became blind from glaucoma during is decades in prison, is scheduled to be electrocuted Thursday for his conviction in the 1991 killing of his estranged girlfriend. Earlier this year, Hall chose the electric chair over lethal injection as allowed under state law.
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| 'More to come' on Jimmy Hoffa disappearance, US attorney says Posted: 03 Dec 2019 03:35 PM PST  The case, depicted in Martin Scorsese's "The Irishman," is "unresolved," U.S. Attorney Matthew Schneider said.
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| F-15X: A Few Billions Dollars Down the Drain (Why Not More F-35s Instead?) Posted: 03 Dec 2019 10:30 PM PST  Stealth really matters against modern air defenses.
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| Pakistani tycoon agrees to hand over $244 million to settle UK probe Posted: 03 Dec 2019 05:30 AM PST  The Pakistani real estate tycoon Malik Riaz Hussain has agreed to hand over 190 million pounds ($244 million) held in Britain to settle a British investigation into whether the money was from the proceeds of crime. Hussain is one of Pakistan's richest and most powerful businessmen and biggest private employers, and is known for upmarket gated housing communities. Britain's National Crime Agency (NCA) said it had agreed a settlement in which Hussain would hand over a property, 1 Hyde Park Place, valued at 50 million pounds, and cash frozen in British bank accounts.
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